


An Officer and a Victim

by Doggerwolf



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Strangers to Lovers, but not completely, crutchie finds love, davey is a police officer, jack and crutchie are brothers, jack is a police officer, katherine is a victim, les is just there for comedy relief, medda is a nurse, racetrack doesn't smoke, specs and racetrack are EMTs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-18 16:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20642441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doggerwolf/pseuds/Doggerwolf
Summary: Katherine Plumber Pulitzer is in an abusive relationship. On this night, her boyfriend lashes out on her again, but this time in the worst way possible. She ends up crossing paths with first responder and police officer Jack Kelly. This results in one of the strangest types of love stories.





	1. The night they met

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Call](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816303) by [SomedayonBroadway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomedayonBroadway/pseuds/SomedayonBroadway). 

Katherine closed the door behind her, reluctantly shouting, "I'm home!"

"Where were you?" Ryan called from the living room. She could hear him slur his words and she groaned. _Hasn't my day already been bad enough?_

"I was working." _Which you might like trying_, she wanted to add, but she knew just how much that would anger him. Nonetheless, she could already hear him beginning to stomp his way over.

"You really expect me to believe that bullshit?" Ryan growled. "I know you're cheating on me!" He punched her in the stomach. She cried out in pain and stumbled back into the wall, something that she was used to. She also knew that it was only another addition to the collection of bruises on her stomach as well as the rest of her body. The scent of alcohol reeked from his mouth.

"All you do is lie!"

Hit to the jaw.

"You filthy whore!"

Punch to the side.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Kick to the shins.

"This is why I hate you!"

Punch to the chest.

"You never seem to learn!"

Slap to the face.

"You know what? I've had it!" He walked down the hall off to the bedroom.

Katherine did something that she never had the chance to do whenever he was home. She quickly pulled out her phone and pressed the buttons for the number she had long wanted to call.

_"911 where is your emergency?"_

Katherine hesitated before whispering in a shaky voice, "My boyfriend is hurting me."

_"Okay. Do you know where he is right now? What's the address?"_

"He just left the room, that's why I'm being quiet. We're at 53rd Cromwell Drive."

_"Ma'am, you can't be in there. Listen closely: I want you to get up and walk out the door. That way he won't hear us talking."_

"Okay..." She was just starting to open the door when Ryan came out from the bedroom, brandishing the pistol he kept in the closet. He must have loaded it while she was talking to the operator.

"Oh my God!" Katherine screamed, finally running out the door towards her car.

_"Ma'am, what's going on?"_

"He's got a gun!" she cried into the other end. "He's coming after me!" The fear racing through her body blocked out what the operator was trying to say. Katherine threw open the driver's side door and practically ran in, not even bothering to put her seatbelt on. She shoved the keys into the ignition and the car engine roared to life as she watched Ryan storm out the door with the gun now pointing at her through the windshield.

_"Ma'am, what's happening?"_

"I'm in my car!" she yelled in both fright and also in frustration at the operator, who tried to give her more instructions that Katherine continued to block out.

She was panting frantically as she put the car in reverse and checked over her shoulder as she prepared to back out. Ryan ran over to the driver's window and fired once. Katherine felt it go into her arm, causing her to scream before a second bullet ripped into her chest. "He's shooting me! He's shooting me!" She managed to pull out and began to drive down the street when she felt the next two.

One entered her shoulder.

The other went right into the back of her head.

The car swerved out of control, tires screeching wildly, before finally crashing into a tree.

Before Katherine blacked out, she could only hear the operator asking if she was still there...

**...**

Jack Kelly and Davey Jacobs were in another one of their little "arguments" as their patrol car went down the road.

"I can't believe ya, Davey," Jack said, laughing. "Who the hell would wanna put ranch dressin' on _pizza_?" He still struggled to keep his eyes on the dark road in front of them.

"In case you've forgotten, Kelly," Davey responded, "us Americans put ranch dressing on practically everything. Besides, you should totally try it! It really isn't that bad!"

"I'd ratha kiss a tarantula's fur than try that!"

"_And_ you hate spiders! Don't know why! Snakes are even worse!"

"See, I'm fine with snakes! I like 'em. But spiders are just plain evil!"

"Says the guy who-" Davey was cut off by the radio.

_"We have a domestic dispute on 53rd Cromwell Drive. The caller was saying that she was being shot at until she went unresponsive."_

"10-4, we're responding", Jack said into the radio before turning on the sirens.

"Sure hope it's not bad," Davey said. 

"Well, one can only hope," Jack answered.

When they reached the street, they could see the hazard lights of the car blinking on and off.

"Shit," Jack muttered. He and Davey got out of their car and ran over. Once they reached the driver's side, they saw that the window was shattered. Inside was a very beautiful girl who couldn't have been more than twenty. She had lovely soft brown hair that fell in curls over her shoulders and pretty pink lips. She would have looked completely fine if it weren't for the blood all over her face and clothes.

Suddenly her eyes flew open.

"Oh, God!" Jack shouted. "Miss, you's gonna be alright, ya hear me? Just stay calm and we're gonna get ya some help, okay? What's ya name?"

The girl said very quietly, "Katherine."

"Katherine, don' worry, you'll be okay. You's just gotta stay with us, and don't pass out, alright?"

Katherine nodded.

**...**

The ambulance pulled up. By now, all the people in the neighboring houses had woken up and come outside, watching over the yellow caution tape in shock as Racetrack and Specs and the other EMTs ran over to where the car was. Both Specs and Race knew Jack and Davey well.

"Any info on her, Jack?" Race asked as Specs and the others pulled Katherine out of the car.

"I dunno, Race," Jack said. "She's been pretty responsive so far. "She said her name is Katherine. She's saying that her boyfriend did this to her."

"Jesus," Race breathed before helping lift Katherine into the back.

The door slammed shut and the ambulance barrelled down the road, sirens wailing.

As he watched it drive off, Jack had the smallest feeling that he was going to see Katherine again.


	2. Fight to live

"Blood pressure?"

"Low."

"Heart rate?"

"Twice every five seconds."

"Step on it! She's lost too much blood!"

Katherine could hear and feel the tension in the ambulance, but her eyes only looked up at the ceiling. She felt weak, telling her that they had connected her to a blood bag(she also felt them put the needles in her skin). She felt like she was on the verge of throwing up. She could feel the back of her clothes soaked in blood, which was almost sticking the stretcher she lay on. Her entire head was aching; a pain that was slowly starting to spread throughout the rest of her body.

She groaned.

"I know, miss Katherine. I know it hurts, but whatever you do, just don't close your eyes until we gets you into surg'ry."

They had told her that as soon as they started driving, and she knew what they meant: if she closed her eyes, that meant she was falling asleep, and if she fell asleep, that meant she was practically giving up.

And if she gave up, that meant her eyes would never open again.

And she wasn't giving up.

She was going to make sure Ryan would look at her in court and see that she wasn't under his control anymore.

And if that meant living, she might as well keep fighting.

** ... **

Jack Kelly arrived home at approximately one o'clock in the morning. After spending hours at the crime scene, he was exhausted.

The chocolate labrador retriever sitting next to Crutchie on the couch hopped down and trotted over to Jack before jumping up on her hind legs and pressing her front paws on Jack's stomach.

"Hey, Lucy," Jack said in a rather sad voice. Lucy cocked her head, seemingly confused by his unusual reaction at her nightly greeting.

"Hey, Jack," Crutchie called from the living room before following his brother into his bedroom as Jack began to change. "What's the matter? I can't remember the last time you came home from work looking so..._ depressed _."

"Had a shooting today, Crutch," Jack said while he removed his suit.

Crutchie sighed. "Sorry, man. What was it this time?"

"Twenty-somethin' year old girl. She was fighting with her boyfriend and he pulled a gun out on her and when she tried to drive away he shot her four times." The last two words were spat out like acid as he put on a sleeveless shirt and shorts. "The last one went into her head."

"God," Crutchie breathed. "People are senseless, Jack. Do ya have the bastard?"

"No. He drove off. There were tire tracks that looked like someone was tryin' to drive from a bomb." He was quiet for a couple of seconds. Then he punched the wall. "Goddammit, Crutch, she can't die. All I want is to find that motherfucker and beat the livin' shit outta him."

Crutchie went over and hugged Jack, who started to cry into his shoulder. "I know, Jack. But you just gotta wait. Y'all are gonna find him, and when you do, you can yell at him all you want."

"What about for now?"

"Well, for now, we should just pray."

** ... **

Medda Larkin had just finished working with another patient when the ambulance arrived.

She was familiar with the reason why her current patient was there. He was suicidal and schizophrenic, something that she was used to after fifteen years as a nurse.

Then one of her colleagues came running down the hall. 

"Medda, come on, we need you."

"Woah, Amber, what's goin' on?" Medda asked while Amber tried to gasp for breath.

"We've got a gunshot victim. They don't know if she's gonna live."

Medda didn't need to hear any more explanations. The next thing she knew, she found herself racing through the hall to the lobby to the front doors(thank got the doors had motion sensors). The back ambulance doors flew open and the clamor started.

"She needs surgery! Now!"

"Are there any exit wounds?"

"Three of 'em passed through. The one in her head is still there."

Medda finally saw the girl on the stretcher. She was such a pretty girl. Her hair, which she predicted would usually look soft, now looked sticky and dry with blood. Who shoots a person _ in their head _? Medda would probably never know.

As they started to roll the girl down the hall, Medda stayed by her side and held her hand all the way to the surgery room.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Medda asked kindly.

"Katherine," the girl answered.

"Okay, Katherine, you just stay strong, alright? You need to remember this, and it's that you need to fight, okay?"

Katherine nodded. Medda could see in her eyes that this girl was already fighting before the ambulance came to get her.


	3. Waking up

Katherine's head was panging. She had never felt so much pain in her life. It felt like the blood had decided to move its way to her brain and was driving through the veins and arteries. It was pulsing loudly in her temples and was almost beating against her skull as if trying to break the barrier separating it from the rest of her body. She could still remember why they had done surgery, but did it have to feel like she was having a hangover? All she could hear was the beeping of the heart monitor and all she could smell was the hospital's sterile odor.

She gave a little moan.

"Oh, thank God, Katherine, you're awake," said a warm, musical voice. Katherine recognized it as the voice of the woman who had been talking to her as they wheeled her into surgery the night before.

"Am I okay?" Katherine asked.

"Yes, honey, you are perfectly alright," the woman said, "you just woke up, so it's going to be uncomfortable."

Katherine slowly opened her eyes. The light was blinding, like looking up at the sun at its harshest while it tried to pierce into her retinas. Once the brightness was gone, she let her head roll over to her right, where she saw the nurse looking at her with a beautiful smile.

"You're the one who talked to me last night," Katherine said, starting to smile herself.

"Yep, that was me," the nurse said walking over. "I'm Medda."

"Well now I know who you are," Katherine said, chuckling. Then she remembered. "What happened to the bullet? Did you get it out? Where's Ryan? Do they have him?"

"Sweetie, calm down," Medda said. "First of all, who is Ryan?"

"He's my boyfriend. He's the one who shot me."

Before Medda spoke again Katherine could have sworn that she saw a flash of anger go through her eyes. "Okay. Well, I don't know about him. The surgery was successful, and they were able to remove the bullet." Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. "Just so you know, a few officers and a detective from the crime scene will be coming over here soon for questioning." Another sigh of relief. God, she couldn't wait to see this asshole in court.

**...**

Jack sat at the red light in frustration. _Come on, come on, _he was practically begging within his mind. The hospital was literally just down the road to his left. So why couldn't the damn thing just go green and he could get this thing over with?

He had been putting his uniform on when he got the phone call that Katherine had woken up from surgery. The next thing he remembered was closing his car door and turning on the engine.

Jack didn't know why he found himself so concerned about Katherine. Sure, an officer was allowed to worry about a victim.

But was he allowed to worry _this much_?

When he saw Katherine that night, he had looked into her eyes. For the strangest reason, he thought he saw something in those beautiful brown pools of hers. It was like some kind of sign, almost. Not just a sign that told him that she was going to be okay, but a sign that she would somehow be with him for the rest of his life.

Could he be _falling_ for her?

The light turned green, bringing Jack's attention back to the road as he turned left.

**...**

A police officer and a detective walked into Katherine's room. _Finally_, she thought. She felt like she had been waiting for hours, even though it had only been forty minutes since she woke up. The officer stood by the entrance while the detective pulled up a chair next to the hospital bed.

"Hello, Ms. Pulitzer," said the detective, "I'm Detective Larson and this here is Officer Jacobs." She recognized Officer Jacobs from the first responding car.

"Pleasure," Katherine said. What else was she supposed to say? _Let's just get this damn thing started so you can track down the motherfucker and I'll be able to see him in_ _court_.

It was then that another officer entered, panting heavily as if he had just run a marathon in that heavy uniform of his. It was the officer that talked to her the night before when she woke up in her totaled car, but now Katherine was able to get the entire look of him. He was muscular; broad shoulders and huge biceps bulged from his long sleeves, and a strong chest heaved in and out as he was gasping for air. He had dark brown, messy hair and green eyes that seemed to have a fire burning in them but also a soft, gentle quality as well. His name tag read: _J._ _Kelly_.

Katherine felt her heart skip a beat, yet it didn't show on the monitor.

"Woah, Jack," said Officer Jacobs, "there ain't no need to be in a rush."

"Sorry, Davey," Jack wheezed, "I guess I just really wanted to get here."

"Well, Officer Kelly, now that you're here, you could sit down if you want to," Detective Larson offered.

"No, sir, I's might as well stand since that's what I'm s'posed to do," Jack insisted in a reassuring voice.

While Katherine told Detective Larson what happened, his pen dancing over his notepad, she couldn't help but notice how Jack was looking at her. It was surprising that he was looking at her at all. The least he could have done was whisper conversations with Davey, but his beautiful green orbs never strayed away from her. While Katherine found it odd, there was no way she was able to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

"Before you leave the hospital, Ms. Pulitzer," Detective Larson said after Katherine was done telling him everything, "we must let you know that you'll be moving to a different house."

"You mean I'll be in the witness protection program?" she asked. She already suspected for that to be happening.

"No."

Now she was confused. "What? What do you mean?"

"Ms. Pulitzer, did you know that Ryan has a criminal record?"

"Yes, but he told me it was just for petty crimes."

Detective Larson sighed. "It's much worse than that, miss. He was in jail for armed robbery back in '06 and stalking in '09, and also aggravated sexual assault."

Katherine's blood ran cold. _That sick son of a bitch. He lied so much to me. And I fucking believed him? _"Well, then, what's going to happen to me?"

"You will be moving into the home of a police officer. The sexual assault victim was put in the witness protection program while law enforcement looked for Ryan, and somehow he found her and tried to kill her before police arrested him. We fear that this may happen to you, too, so we've decided to move you to the house of someone who is able to protect you."

"Who's the officer?" she asked.

"That would be Officer Kelly." Detective Larson answered.

Jack's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. What? Why wasn't I told about this?"

"Why do you think they called you down here, Jack?" Davey asked.

"Wait, Davey, you's was in on this, too?" Jack exclaimed, even more shocked.

"Jack," Davey began, "you were the only one whose schedule fit perfectly. You're on night patrol on Fridays, and the other weekdays you work during the day, which also means that Crutchie can look over Katherine during that period of time before you come back. Don't you remember that he knows how to shoot a gun?"

Jack stood still for a while. "Oh well, if that's what the sheriff says then I might as well."

Davey patted him on the back. "Knew you'd have a heart, Jackie-boy." This earned him a playful punch to the shoulder.

Katherine sighed mentally. _Well, this should be interesting._


End file.
